Ohohoy!

TORQUE recently announced that the First Triple SIM Mobile Phone in the Philippines will be available this June 2010. The Torque TQ800 Trinity, the only Triple SIM GSM Quadband handset available in the market will surely turn the heads of mobile fanatics. Perfect for the busy body who have at least two lines at hand, with the Torque TQ800, you can have three lines in one handset. “The Torque TQ800 is perfect for the travelling businessman because aside from its Triple SIM/Triple Standby feature, it’s also Quadband GSM, WiFi ready, has TV and FM Radio for entertainment and all the other basic mobile features” says Chris Uyco, Torque’s President and CEO and the brains behind the brand.

Beautifully and perfectly crafted with its QWERTY keyboard and easy access buttons with a sturdy Trackball for easy navigation, the Torque TQ800 is one head turner. Praise to its internal memory that can store up to 3000 Phonebook Entries, with Motion Sensor for selected phone functions, extra large and clear 2.4” LCD that enables you to take pleasure while watching your program with its mobile TV. It is also equipped with an FM radio, Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, dual cameras (2MP at the back, VGA in front) with video recording and a micro-SD expandable memory slot. This phone is surely compacted with the deity and spirit of this 1^st of its kind innovation.

Exclusively distributed by Topstrasse Global Inc., the Torque TQ800 will soon be available in a few weeks at an unbelievably price range of less than P8,000.00 in all leading mobile stores nationwide. Unquestionably functionality at its best!

We have seen a lot of mobile handset brands trying to penetrate the Cellphone TV market, but nothing can still beat those china brands that has proliferated in the local market for the past few years. The only problem with those products is the quality of the TV reception you get out of these generic brands. Torque has again came out with a new and updated version of its Torque DTV100 model, the DTV90. Though this model was priced a thousand bucks more than its predecessor, but it has updated some of its features to bring more viewing pleasure. The reception quality was quite exceptional compared to its older model. You can also adjust the quality of the reception (though I can’t still seem to get numbering of its quality adjustment). Also the orientation of the screen adjusts automatically from portrait to landscape everytime you change adjust the unit. Channel reception though will vary on your location, just be sure on your first attempt to program the channels, you are in a very good location to get most of the local channels available. Based from experience, channels 7, 11 and 23 has the best reception quality within the Metro. One thing I don’t like with the DTV90 is the mini USB type headset provided when you buy the unit. I don’t know if you can get a superior mini USB headset in the local market, but for now I’m stuck with this kind of headset, one thing for sure sound quality is not good. The DTV90’s screen is a bit smaller than its predecessor, but the improvement in the clarity of its reception made up of on its smaller sized monitor. It has a 2 megapixel camera mounted on the front and back of the phone both capable of recording videos.

Aside from the TV feature, the Torque DTV90 sports all the basic features that you can get from any model from this brand, its Dual Sim Dual Standby feature, Quadband, GPRS/WAP enabled, MP3/MP4/3GP video and audio player and its motion sensor feature, with just a shake of the phone, you can either program the unit to change the wallpaper, skip to the next music track, etc.

The DTV90 sells at P 4,999.00. At this price you can get 2 phones.

Recently got hold of the latest product offering from Torque, the D110 Metal. You will really love the look of this one, elegantly styled with its classic metal casing and wait till you get to actually hold the actual unit, it’s a heavy unit for its size and thickness. It’s truly leaving up to its name - D110 METAL. Though the keypad buttons are a bit bothersome after a period of using it. At first you would think that those cute stainless buttons would make texting easier, but its tiring using after a while. But I get to give it to the designers of this brand, this is really one beautiful handset.

Looking under the hood, the D110 Metal is a Dual Sim Dual Standby phone, quadband, sports a 1.3 megapixel camera, its Bluetooth enabled even for a Bluetooth headset, it can play videos on its 2.2” QVGA monitor and play mp3/mp4/3gp files. It doesn’t have WIFI but you can connect to the internet using its GPRS/WAP connectivity function. I can say that this model just provides the basic comforts of a basic phone for calls and texting. After testing this unit for a few days, i noticed that the SMS is quite slow after typing in more than ten words or so. After typing in a few words, you will notice that you are not already typing in the words in real time, there is a lag of two or more words. People behind Torque should do something about this, its really frustrating sending SMS like this.

One cute feature of the D110 Metal is its motion sensor. With just one shake of the phone, you can program the phone to either change the wallpaper, play the next music track, or silent your phone when you are in a meeting.

If you are a style conscious person but don’t have the budget to afford those big name brands in the market, the Torque D110 Metal is just right for you. It retails only at P 3,299.00. Heavy on the hands, but not on your pocket.

Gadgets are becoming even smaller with manufacturers finding ways to create smaller components giving the word “handy or portable” a new meaning. Take for example Torque’s latest product, the ES-5HD, one of the smallest HD video camera in the local market. It claims to have an 11 megapixel maximum still resolution for its digital camera while for its High Definition video recording, a maximum of 720p/30 frames per second. The ES-5HD has a 64MB internal memory with an expandable storage up to 16Gb SD card slot. I only have a 1Gb SD card that usually give me about 25 to 30 minutes of HD videos, for the D1 video resolution (PAL/NTSC), it will give you about a little bit over an hour worth of videos.

Aside from the usual Audio Video jack output, the Torque ES-5HD is equipped with HDMI for those who want to directly show their videos on their LCD screens at home. With its small size of about 100 x 57 x 17.9 mm, it easily fits the palm of your hand or in your shirt pocket. It’s almost the size of a regular pocket pc phone. Video quality is quite good if you compare versus the camera phones. But with its very portable size, video output seems to be a bit shaky. Not recommended for those suffering from trembling or pasmado hands. But there is a built-in stabilizer; the drawback using this feature is that it disables the digital zoom feature. Having that trusty tripod at hand will greatly improve your shots.

This is also useful on “spy” missions due to its very compact size.

Also the function buttons and the jack outputs are all located on one side of the camera, easy for those who have petite and cute fingers.

Picture resolution is good especially for outdoor shots. But for low light conditions, it just gives you dark or sometimes blurry pictures even with the use of the built-in flash. Video output is relatively good both for outdoor and low light conditions. Turning on the night mode function improves it a little bit except if you are shooting moving objects.

Sample outdoor shot taken from the ES 5HD during one of our out of town trips. Color registration is quite good

Indoor shot of the packaging taken from the ES 5HD

It also has a motion detect function useful for monitoring purposes. It stops recording when it doesn’t detect movement anymore. Perfect to spy on your nanny and kids if you are always in the office.

The ES 5HD can also function as a Web Cam so need to buy and upgrade from your Winnie the Pooh web cams if you have this camera. It also boasts its music player capabilities but it can only play mp3 files. Sound quality is average using the stock earphones, though you can use your iPod earphones for improve music experience.

For the price of the ES 5HD at P4,999.00, not bad with all the features you get in just one small gadget . Though not recommended for the discerning photo enthusiasts or videographer, but very useful for your everyday use.

Sonim Technologies just recently announced their latest product offering together with British manufacturer of all terrain vehicles Land Rover. The rugged S1 Land Rover, comes with a protective case made of Xenoy, a high tech polycarbonate material allegedly 20 times stronger than metal and offers outstanding performance in applications that are exposed to harsh conditions.

According to Land Rover, the S1 Land Rover is completely waterproof up to a certain depth, can withstand thermal shock (-20C to 60-100C), humidity and a 1.6 meter drop. Talk about durability! Most phones with a drop of 2-3 feet will leave you with a broken LCD or a new paperweight.

Confident with its durability, the S1 Land Rover was tested to its limit by having it run over by a Land Rover, roasted in an oven, soaked in beer, submerged in mud then have an elephant stand on the phone.

Launched last July 2009, it hasn’t reached our shores yet, but it will have a price tag of approximately P26,000 to P30,000 once its locally available.

Dubbed as the world’s strongest or toughest phone, it sports of the usual features such as Bluetooth, a 2MP Camera with flash, torch light, a built-in GPS, WAP browser and an FM Radio (might not be handy if you’re in Mt. Everest). It’s also equipped with an “extra loud ringtone” in case you need to find your phone under an elephant.